Nigeria: PDP - Court Dismisses Anyanwu's Suit After Withdrawal

21 January 2026
Daily Trust (Abuja)
By John Chuks Azubaba Martins

A Federal High Court in Abuja has dismissed a suit filed by the factional National Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Samuel Anyanwu, seeking to retain his position in the party.

Justice M. G. Umar dismissed the matter on Tuesday after Anyanwu withdrew the suit, citing the expiration of his tenure.

Anyanwu had approached the court in suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/254/2025 against the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and others, seeking an order restraining his removal from office. He also asked the court to bar INEC from accepting or acting on any PDP correspondence not bearing his signature.

The suit followed a previous Supreme Court judgment which held that issues relating to the leadership of political parties are internal affairs and therefore non-justiciable. The apex court had also warned that multiple suits on the same subject amount to an abuse of court process.

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Although Anyanwu had pursued several legal battles, insisting that his tenure runs until December 2025, he was among senior party members expelled during the PDP's national convention held in Ibadan, Oyo State, in November 2025. The convention produced Dr Tanimu Turaki (SAN) as national chairman.

Reacting to Tuesday's ruling, Turaki described the dismissal as a vindication of his leadership. Speaking after a meeting of the Turaki-led National Working Committee (NWC) with former Vice President Muhammad Namadi Sambo, he said the judgment reaffirmed the Supreme Court's position that political parties have the exclusive right to determine their leadership.

He said the ruling further validated the Ibadan convention and the legitimacy of the NWC under his leadership.

Turaki also criticised expelled party members allegedly backed by the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, warning that individuals cannot "retreat to a corner and ascribe leadership to themselves."

"This is not a market association. It is a political party, and there must be discipline," he said.

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